Hey everyone, i have a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon long underneath. my house was built in 1985 and was wondering if the structure built in the 1980's is significant enough to support the weight, i have a full basement underneath with acess to the floor joists. unfortunately because of the window layout, i can only put it one palce, where it will run paralell with the joists, is this enough weight to be concerned about? i mean if you have 5-6 adults standing next to each other in a group its almost teh same amount of weight...anyways any input will help out, thanks again.
Of course it's probably best to have someone with a background in home construction check everything out, it's kinda hard for anyone off the cuff to say you are ok or not (using the "playing it safe" card )
One think i can add is, i think the orientation of your flooring joists are running the wrong way if anything, regarding the tank placement. Correct me if i'm wrong, but i think the best way (when at all possible) is to have the joists running the other way to give you more spread out support with more than with a few.
:doh: Just looked in my basement(but i already knew) and have to admit my 180 is placed near the outer wall with joists running parallel with it:blush:.
And my 75 is placed in what i would say is the "correct" way with the joists. And FWIW, both tanks jostle a lil bit with foot traffic regardless.
Bottom line, i'd say get someone who's in the business, or at least knowledgable enuf to take a peek at your joints to get a better determination on if things will work out for you.
15 yrs with both tanks in this house, the prev house i had shored up the 180 underneath w/ jackposts, just cuz (and it was with the joists running the "right" way )
Prob not a real answer to your question, just my :2cents: .
When my second house was being built, we had them double up the floor joists where my 75gal reef was to sit. (three joists with the tank across them, not running with them) Even still, you could feel the floor shake when the kids would run across it. My 200gal reef was to0 heavy to place up stairs, so it went in the family room down stairs.(weighed as much as a small car when it was finished!) I guess you could place steel jackposts under the floor joists that would be directly under the tank. I wouldn't place it running with the joists, even with them doubled, long term. Tank weight + stand + water + rock + sand + sump + equipment + you, could be close to 1000lbs. (Long term) Floor Sag is bad!
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